Stocks Trim Morning Losses; Netflix Leads S&P 500 Stocks

Stocks were steady, trimming some initial losses in weak trade near midday.

The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 were each down 0.4%. The Nasdaq narrowed its loss to 0.2%.

The stock market today was not finding any glimmers of progress among political leaders in Washington, but losses were mild and institutional investors remained largely on the bench. Volume dimmed 15% on the Nasdaq and sagged 24% lower on the NYSE compared with Friday's light trade.

Almost 85% of the S&P 500 stocks were down in morning trade. Expedia (EXPE) fell more than 7% in heavy action, the index's biggest loss. Netflix (NFLX) climbed 5% in four times its average volume, the S&P 500's biggest gain.

Losses continued to be broad but relatively shallow among leaders. More than four in five of the IBD 50 stocks were trading lower. Mylan (MYL), Facebook (FB) and Qihoo 360 Technology (QIHU) held the list's worst losses — down 2% each.

Whirlpool (WHR) dived 5% in powerful selling after Longbow Research said weak September shipments would prevent the company from either topping Q3 expectations or raising its guidance. The appliance maker had been pulling back since a Sept. 19 high. Monday's slip sent shares below their 50-day line of support in heavy trade.

Homebuilder stocks were experiencing some selling pressure, with Ryland Group (RYL), D.R. Horton (DHI), Pulte Group (PHM) and Lennar (LEN) all down 3%.

See Also

U.S. diversified stock funds climbed 0.04% on average in the week ended July 30, confining their losing streak to a single week. They've gained ground for investors in two of the past three weeks, but a three-week losing skein preceded that. Their gain in the latest week put them up 3.28% for the ...

Several highly rated stocks cleared buy points Friday after reporting results. Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) gapped up and bolted 13.83, or 13%, to 121.44. It gapped above a 115.10 buy point from a flat base. Volume swelled five times above average. The stock finished near its session high. Late Thursday, ...

The travel-booking industry group was the top performer Friday, and Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) was a big part of the reason. It gapped out of a base to an all-time high after an upbeat Q2 report. Priceline (NASDAQ:PCLN) also gapped higher and was trading near a buy point. And Sabre (NASDAQ:SABR) broke ...

07/31/2015 06:21 PM ET

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